Updated 12:56 am, Friday, October 25, 2013

Some substance had been in Jon Lester's glove during his Game 1 gem. A Cardinals minor leaguer captured it and posted the screenshot online. It was yellowish. Or maybe green. It was sketchy, whatever it was.

It was reviewed by Major League Baseball and no conclusions were drawn. Lester claimed it was just resin. Everyone was predictably politically correct about it. And then Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, back at Fenway for a 2004 mini-reunion, chimed in.

"If we all watch baseball and we watch what happened (Wednesday) night, it's not about what he had in his glove," Martinez said. "It's about how bad St. Louis came out to play. They did not execute. They did not do anything right."

They didn't screw up the crucial Game 2, however. They did the opposite. As Cardinals errors killed the opener, Red Sox miscues helped even this series as it heads to the Midwest.

"In the seventh inning, we kind of contributed to the three runs allowed," Sox manager John Farrell said. "It's uncharacteristic of the way we've taken care of the baseball this year."

Craig Breslow had a World Series debut to forget, relieving John Lackey with two on and one out in the seventh. After a double-steal, Breslow walked Daniel Descalso to load the bases. After a double-error on Matt Carpenter's slap to left center, the Cardinals had reclaimed the lead 3-2.

Jonny Gomes' throw on the play was slightly out of Jarrod Saltalamacchia's reach. Credit Saltalamacchia with the error. Breslow scooped up the ball and fired it to third, sailing it over Xander Bogaerts' head. Credit that error, a monumental one, to the Yale grad from Trumbull.

"That's the one, looking back," Farrell said. "I'm sure Craig would like to have that ball back and hold it with a chance to shut down the inning right there."

Credit the St. Louis Cardinals for this bounce-back 4-2 victory, halting the momentum that, in all honesty, had the early makings of a sweep. Carlos Beltran, fighting through the bruised ribs suffered Wednesday, drove in the critical fourth run, ending Breslow's night. Pete Kozma, the butt of Game 1 jokes, fielded better without the glove.

And Wachan you say about the Cards' 22-year-old ace? In the biggest start of his life, Michael Wacha was magnificent for 102 pitches. On pitch No. 103, he left an 85-mile-an-hour changeup out for David Ortiz to smash. Big Papi's 17th career postseason homer gave the Sox a brief 2-1 edge, a notable feat given Wacha's performance.

What can you say about Carlos Martinez? St. Louis'other 22-year-old, the kid they call "Baby Pedro," froze Shane Victorino to start the eighth. Then he struck out Dustin Pedroia on a breaking ball. He got Mike Napoli to pop out, ending the inning.

Many predicted this series would be won in the bullpen. That may be true. Game 2 was, for sure. There was no ninth-inning magic for the Sox, who went down in three consecutive strikeouts to flamethrower Trevor Rosenthal. The Sox bullpen played a role in giving St. Louis a lead, and the Cardinals pen made sure it wouldn't be handed back.

Coming in to this series, Boston relievers had a collective 0.96 postseason ERA. Breslow hadn't surrendered a run in 18 innings. That changed Thursday, along with the complexion of this series.

The outcome is now as mysterious as the yellowish-green thing in Lester's glove, the stuff Boston insisted was resin.

"If you know Jon Lester, he sweats like a pig and he needs resin," Farrell said. "And you know what? He keeps it in his glove. Other guys will keep it on their arm. Other guys will keep it on their pant leg. So that's my response to the allegations."

Farrell added: "The one thing that seemed very odd is that it shows up in a lime green color. I don't know how that can happen."

In the pregame, Matheny called the controversy "pretty much a dead issue."

"We move on with the fact that the league has to take notice," he said.

They move on 1-1 with three in a row at home. The good vibes in Boston aren't gone, but they're not nearly as strong as they were Thursday afternoon. This thing could go either way. As well as the Sox have played, they've surrendered home field advantage and they're counting on Jake Peavy (8.31 postseason ERA) and a banged-up Clay Buchholz in Games 3 and 4.

The ex-Red Sox visiting Fenway for Game 2 were asked about comparisons between this team, which at 7 p.m. Thursday looked primed for a sweep, and that special group for 2004. Lowe, Martinez and Trot Nixon understood. With both teams, egos are checked at the door. The chemistry, the energy is obvious. The parallels are valid.

"I don't know if you guys have been noticing the way they play the game," Martinez said. "They play like a wolf pack. That's how I describe the whole team -- like a wolf pack. They draw a plan to kill and to feed everybody ¦"

Lowe cut him off.

"What are we talking about again right now?" he said, smiling. "You got me lost. You started talking about kill."

"Because they go after the kill," Martinez explained. "A little baby animal that's hurt or something like that -- the easiest catch."

But the beast of the NL isn't lying down to die. Even if these Sox have that '04 magic, this one won't be so easy.